Every part in the Pods category: where your crew rides, or the machine that flies the ship in their place, and its figures from the info card.
A pod is the ship's command part: it steers on its own reaction wheels the instant it is aboard, and it carries the ship's name. See Building a rocket for how it joins the rest of the stack, and Flying for how its steering fits with fins, gimbal and thrusters.
Command Pod
Part · Pods · sold by Rocketry
The pod a Meek flies from. It flies only with an astronaut aboard: seat one on its properties sheet before you fly, or the launch is refused. That rule follows the Control from here switch — a Command Pod riding a ship you fly from a probe core is a cabin, and may go up empty.
Figure
Value
DRY MASS
800 kg
FULL MASS
820 kg
COST
400 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
10 u
STORES FOOD
20 u · 20 kg
STORES WASTE
20 u · launches empty
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
0.86 u/day
CONSUMES FOOD
1 u/day
TORQUE
20 kN·m
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.6×
HEAT EXPOSURE
0.6×
BODY LIFT CL
0.4
BASE-FIRST LIFT CL
0.16
MAX TEMP
2400 K
MAX G
25 g
IMPACT
20 m/s
BLAST
60 kN · 2.7 m
ASTRONAUTS
1
NODES
4
WHEEL POWER
0.02 u/s
It stacks a tank or engine above and below, and offers a rail along each shoulder for a pair of fins.
Its one action, in the shared world, is Cloak this ship, paid once in gems (Cloak a ship). Its properties sheet carries a Ship name field and the identity switches, Control from here, Space station, Inverted controls, Open to other players, Insurance cover (in flight only, once the world requires cover) and Share resources with other players, all usable in flight (with sharing on, a Resource prices button opening the table of every resource's Sells at and Buys at prices, see Put prices on your station), and a Crew row with its one seat, hangar only.
Pairs with a Fuel Tank and an Engine for a first flight. Instead of it, fly a Sat Controller when nobody needs to be aboard, or a Crew Capsule when you want two seats.
Sat Controller
Part · Pods · sold by Probe Control
A remote command core: it flies the ship with nobody aboard, steering on its own reaction wheel, so long as it keeps a working link home.
Figure
Value
MASS
150 kg
COST
200 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
5 u
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
0.43 u/day
TORQUE
8 kN·m
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.8×
HEAT EXPOSURE
0.8×
MAX TEMP
1600 K
MAX G
15 g
IMPACT
10 m/s
BLAST
6 kN · 0.9 m
COMM RANGE
3000000 m
COMM TRANSMIT
YES
COMM RELAY
NO
COMM DATA RATE BPS
100
NODES
2
WHEEL POWER
0.05 u/s
It stacks between a tank and whatever sits above it; it has no rails for fins.
Note
Its own radio is rated at 3,000 km, but reach is a pairing: against a level 1 Comm Station on the ground that rating carries about 12,000 km, which covers Earth orbit and no further. See Communications.
Its one action, in the shared world, is Cloak this ship, paid once in gems (Cloak a ship). Its properties are a Ship name field and the identity switches, Control from here, Space station, Inverted controls, Open to other players, Insurance cover (in flight only, once the world requires cover) and Share resources with other players, all usable in flight (with sharing on, a Resource prices button opening the table of every resource's Sells at and Buys at prices, see Put prices on your station).
Pairs with an antenna for the reach a probe needs out of sight of the pad. Instead of it, fly a Command Pod or Crew Capsule once a Meek is coming along.
Crew Capsule
Part · Pods · sold by Crew Capsules
A bigger pod: two seats, more life support, and the structure for a heavier mission. Like any pod, it flies only with an astronaut aboard while it is the one you fly from.
Figure
Value
DRY MASS
1400 kg
FULL MASS
1440 kg
COST
700 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
15 u
STORES FOOD
40 u · 40 kg
STORES WASTE
40 u · launches empty
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
1.3 u/day
CONSUMES FOOD
2 u/day
TORQUE
25 kN·m
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.6×
HEAT EXPOSURE
0.6×
BODY LIFT CL
0.4
BASE-FIRST LIFT CL
0.16
MAX TEMP
2400 K
MAX G
25 g
IMPACT
20 m/s
BLAST
90 kN · 3.3 m
ASTRONAUTS
2
NODES
4
WHEEL POWER
0.03 u/s
It stacks a tank or engine above and below, and offers a rail along each shoulder, the same mounting an Escape Motor bolts to for an abort.
Its one action, in the shared world, is Cloak this ship, paid once in gems (Cloak a ship). Its properties sheet carries a Ship name field and the identity switches, Control from here, Space station, Inverted controls, Open to other players, Insurance cover (in flight only, once the world requires cover) and Share resources with other players, all usable in flight (with sharing on, a Resource prices button opening the table of every resource's Sells at and Buys at prices, see Put prices on your station), and a Crew row with its two seats, hangar only.
Pairs with an Escape Motor on a shoulder rail for a launch abort, and a Passenger Cabin behind it for more seats than its own two. Instead of it, the Command Pod is lighter and cheaper for a one-seat flight.
Crew Capsule L
Part · Pods · sold by Wide Capsules
The Crew Capsule for the 8 m stack: a different build from the small one, a smooth white cone with a hinged nose cap, two windows and a side hatch for its three seats, and a base as wide as a wide tank, so a crewed ship no longer has to narrow to 4 m at the top. Like any pod, it flies only with an astronaut aboard while it is the one you fly from.
Figure
Value
DRY MASS
3200 kg
FULL MASS
3260 kg
COST
1500 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
30 u
STORES FOOD
60 u · 60 kg
STORES WASTE
60 u · launches empty
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
1.73 u/day
CONSUMES FOOD
2 u/day
TORQUE
25 kN·m
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.6×
HEAT EXPOSURE
0.6×
BODY LIFT CL
0.4
BASE-FIRST LIFT CL
0.16
MAX TEMP
2400 K
MAX G
25 g
IMPACT
20 m/s
BLAST
150 kN · 4.3 m
ASTRONAUTS
3
NODES
4
WHEEL POWER
0.03 u/s
It stacks a wide tank or engine above and below, and offers a rail along each shoulder, as the Crew Capsule does.
Its one action, in the shared world, is Cloak this ship, paid once in gems (Cloak a ship). Its properties sheet carries the same Ship name field and identity switches as the Crew Capsule, and a Crew row with its three seats, hangar only.
Its own wheels are no stronger than the Crew Capsule's, so a wide ship turns slowly on them alone: an RW-500 Reaction Wheel in the stack is what swings it round.
Pairs with a Heat Shield L under it for the way home, and a Fuel Tank L or Payload Bay L below that. Instead of it, the Crew Capsule is lighter and cheaper when two seats will do and the ship is 4 m wide.
Passenger Cabin
Part · Pods · sold by Passenger Cabins
A cabin with two seats and no controls: it carries passengers, but the ship still needs a pod with an astronaut of its own flying it.
Figure
Value
DRY MASS
900 kg
FULL MASS
940 kg
COST
500 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
10 u
STORES FOOD
40 u · 40 kg
STORES WASTE
40 u · launches empty
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
0.86 u/day
CONSUMES FOOD
1 u/day
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.6×
HEAT EXPOSURE
1.45×
BODY LIFT CL
0.25
MAX TEMP
1600 K
MAX G
20 g
IMPACT
14 m/s
BLAST
90 kN · 3.3 m
ASTRONAUTS
2
NODES
4
SEAT POWER
1.73 u/day each
It stacks a tank or another part above and below, and offers a rail along each flank.
It has no actions to tap. Its only property is a Crew row with its two seats, hangar only: you cannot reseat it mid-flight.
Pairs with any pod carrying an astronaut. Instead of it, seat a passenger directly in a Crew Capsule's spare seat when you need only one more.
